Take Me Up
by TheWayThatIDo
Summary: Alternate Season 3. Faberry. Quinn and Rachel struggle as they try to discover their purpose for being put in each others lives. Brittana included.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I took this manipped video from YouTube and I'm placing it in an alternate season 3. Check out the vid, it's really great. This starts off as that scene and then the story will flip back and forth between senior year and the summer between junior and senior year. This started off as a little plot bunny that I couldn't get out of my head so I'm not quite sure where it is going to go BUT…I'm hoping it will get some of us through the season 3 hiatus. Don't be shy, your reviews are greatly appreciated and are what keep me inspired.

Let me know how I'm doing and enjoy!

Here's the link by CandyClaim:

http:/ www. youtube. com/ watch? v=byXxTQu_8lg (just remove the spaces)

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><p>Quinn let her fingers graze the keys of the piano, lightly adding pressure here and there to bring to life the notes of a melody. Her head was bowed in concentration yet her mind was so far away. So far away from the empty auditorium she was in. Far from the corridors of Mckinley High. Off in a place outside of Lima where her thoughts were free and her dreams were big.<p>

Deep in her thoughts, Quinn didn't hear the backstage door open across the room. Nor did she hear the soft footsteps of a visitor hurriedly approaching. It was only when the wide eyed brunette got in close distance that Quinn looked up.

"You're late," she snipped. She put on her best scowl. She and Rachel had arranged to meet in the auditorium for a quick run through of songs for Glee club. It was unlike Rachel Berry to show up to lunch late, let alone a rehearsal. Quinn forced herself to not care about whatever had kept the girl from arriving on time.

"We're friends right?" Rachel asked quickly, ignoring Quinn's comment. Her hands were in front of her, nervously tangled in each other. She wasn't quite sure how the conversation was going to go and she couldn't stop her voice from wavering ever so slightly.

Quinn looked up at her quizzically but answered with a sad smile, "I guess so."

"I mean, like, everything happened last year…" Rachel spoke uncertainly.

"What's your point?" Quinn challenged.

"My point IS that I know we haven't spent a lot of time together this year but I thought we were…close enough to be honest with each other."

"Go head. Ask me," Quinn's voice sounding small.

"Fine! Did you kiss her?" Rachel's words came out in a rush.

"Yes," She answered with certainty. "It's been a couple of weeks…Look Rachel, it's just not gonna work out."

"Thank you for being honest with me, Quinn," Rachel said carefully, "But don't go and try to rewrite history, okay? It was real between us." If she just got Quinn to see she was being irrational Rachel knew the blonde beauty would drop the HBIC act.

Quinn corked her head to the side, asking skeptically, "And how long did that last for?"

Rachel felt her heart stop for a moment. The look in Quinn's eyes was merciless. This was clearly the old cheerleading captain before her and not the sweet hearted girl she knew Quinn was. Rachel felt the threat of tears in the corners of her eyes but she fought to control herself.

"Why are you being so mean?" She said, shaking her head in disbelief.

At that, Quinn rose from the piano bench and calmly walked over to Rachel, closing the gap between them. Quinn's thoughts raced with all the different things she wanted to say. All the things she needed to say but feared would make Rachel run. It would kill her inside to tell Rachel things only to have her run away. No, she wasn't going to get left behind with a broken heart. She was going to be the one to break away first.

"Do you want to know how this story plays out?" When Rachel brought her eyes to meet hers, Quinn deadpanned, "You get heartbroken. You don't belong here, Rachel! And you can't hate me for helping to send you on your way."

Rachel Berry, never one to take no as an answer without a fight, shot back, "It's not over between us-"

"YES, IT IS! You're so frustrating," Quinn said, exasperated. "Because you live in this little school girl fantasy, but Rachel, if you keep looking for that happy ending then you are NEVER gonna get it right." Quinn's anger was building at the brunettes ability to seemingly make everything more difficult. How could she get over Rachel if Rachel refused to give her the opportunity to?

Quinn didn't have to fight her much longer. At the sound of Quinn's venomous words, Rachel turned on her heels and booked it for the exit. She tried her best to not give away that she was crying but her slumped shoulders and brisk walk was enough for anyone to notice something was wrong. Not wanting to see the girl storm off, Quinn turned her back and slowly walked back to the piano bench. After hearing the door shut behind Rachel, she finally turned and sat down as she once had only minutes before. She began playing, slow and aimlessly.

The music didn't go on for very long before Quinn convinced herself she wasn't fooling anyone. Frustrated, she banged her palms against the piano keys. The notes clashed clumsily together in the emptiness of the stage. Finally, Quinn brought her hands up to cover her face while she tried to control her unsteady breathing. As much as she hated it, tears slipped out of her closed eyes. It wasn't supposed to be that hard turning down Rachel. Why did she feel so incredibly lonely? She sat there a while longer until her eyes were sore and her head felt light. Letting out a shallow breath she made her way to the door, walking outside to her car.

Quinn drove home with a face of stone as her sadness transformed to something else. Anger. She refused to be a blubbering mess. She was a steel hearted Fabray and this was the cold, real world. Survival was key regardless of how it was obtained. Rachel was only a virus she was forced to get rid of. It was the best for the both of them. Quinn nodded one sharp nod in agreement to her inner thoughts. She didn't trust herself to speak out loud.

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><p>On the way past the parking lot Finn noticed a very red faced Rachel walking by. She seemed even redder and her frown was even deeper than usual. He made a move to follow after her but stopped short when he realized she was making a beeline for Kurt's car. As he watched her get in, he marveled at the idea that the two were even friends. Kurt was so commanding of attention with the colorful clothes and his need to always add his opinion. Then there was Rachel who was even more commanding of attention with her librarian clothes and need to critique everything. With two egos that big, how did they possibly manage to talk about anything but themselves?<p>

"Hm, maybe that's it. They're friends because they talk to each other about themselves," he murmured. If that was the case then he didn't mind letting Kurt help Rachel out with whatever was going on. He still planned on checking in on her later but he reasoned that girl talk…uh, girl and gay friend, talk would be good for her. Finn wanted Rachel to be happy. More specifically, he wanted to be the one to make her happy. Finn felt his heart swell with pride at the thought of being the person to turn Rachel's obvious sadness into a smile. And if he played his cards right, the reward of a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter begins the flashback. It is set after the ND lose Nationals and are leaving New York.

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><p>Finn and Rachel sat together on the plane back home from Nationals. Everyone had been ignoring them for the majority of the trip. Finn talked softly into Rachel's ear in attempt to give her comfort. His hand rest on her knee but she felt anything but comfortable. She listened to Finn ramble on about how he had no regrets about kissing her up there on that stage for everyone to see. Rachel heard the affection in his voice and it was enough to break her heart.<p>

It was a mistake. They never should have kissed on that stage. Not at Nationals. Not in front of those people. Not when she didn't feel anything from it. After the kiss, Rachel's cheeks had been red hot, but it wasn't from the heat of the intimate moment. It was from embarrassment. How could she have been so silly to put New Directions in jeopardy like that? She had wanted to kiss Finn. She wanted to convince herself that everything was fine. That she knew what she wanted. Finn. But when their lips connected she knew instantly that she was wrong. The spark that she had once felt was no longer there.

"-And, listen, if anyone tries to slushie you when we get back I'll make sure-" she heard Finn continue. She was about to cut him but someone beat her to it.

"Can we swap, Finn? I need to talk to Rachel," said the person now standing beside Finn's seat.

"Quinn, I really don't think I want you sitting next to her right now, okay? She's in a fragile state and I think its best if I just stay-"

"Oh please," Quinn dismissed with a hint of attitude, "I'm not going to do anything. I just think I could give her some advice…on how to survive with everyone hating her." Her voice got slightly more genuine.

"That's ridiculous," Finn scowled, "Nobody hates us!"

At that moment all the glee club members that were seated around them turned to give death glares. Even two rows up slowly turned to meet eyes with Finn. Rachel slunk in to her seat a little deeper.

"See?" Quinn raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow.

"…uh…I. I guess we are at the bottom of the food chain."

"Again," Rachel added somberly.

"Ok, fine. Talk. But if I see even the slightest-" he said.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get up so we can have girl talk." Quinn nudged Finn out of his seat to switch with her seat by Puck.

For a while neither girl spoke. Rachel looked down at her fingers in her lap then out the window where there was only blue sky and white clouds. Quinn sat comfortably, taking in their close proximity. She was finally feeling calm. The entire trip Quinn felt so tied up with stress but now they were on their way back home and she was next to Rachel.

"Are you going to hit me?" Rachel asked timidly.

"No, Rachel. I am not going to hit you," Quinn said back simply.

"You're not mad about losing Nationals?" Rachel looked over at the blonde.

"I didn't care much about the competition part of the trip. It was fun just traveling. Anywhere is better than Lima," she said though secretly she couldn't wait to be cozy back at home.

"You're lying. You are angry with Finn and I for ruining our chances. Why don't you want to hurt me for it? I completely understand if you do. I'd hurt you if you were me," Rachel added nervously.

"No you wouldn't," Rachel said knowingly.

After a moment Rachel dipped her head to the side, "Yeah, you're right."

"But yes. I'm not thrilled about losing. We really could've won, Rachel." Seeing the smaller girls shoulders sag Quinn continued, "It's okay though because it will make winning Nationals senior year that much greater."

Quinn cocked her head to the side too so she could look at Rachel better.

"Did you really come over here to give me advice on how to deal with everyone hating me?"

"Honestly? It seemed like Finn was talking your ear off. I could tell you didn't want to talk and I've been in that position before with him. I did it to give you a break." Quinn lied through her teeth and she hoped Rachel couldn't tell. It was more like her reason for kicking Finn out of his seat was to take the opportunity to sit next to Rachel. Quinn was always afraid of letting her need to constantly be near the singer be too obvious but her jealousy had been boiling over watching Finn and Rachel sitting together.

"Thank you," Rachel said in a small voice.

"For what?" Quinn asked, confused.

"Not hating me."

Quinn's mind immediately went into a frenzy. She had so many things that she wanted to say right then…Don't thank me, you're the one who I've made miserable and you still forgave me. Thank you, Rachel, because no one else would forgive me that way after I made their life hell. You're so beautiful and I wish you could see it as clear as I do. You're so beautiful…

Instead, all that came out was, "Don't mention it."

Rachel seemed content with that answer, shifting sideways in her chair to lean against the window. Quinn kept her eyes forward, head still reeling from having Rachel so close. She wasn't sure how long it had been that she found herself attracted to Rachel but she knew it went far beyond just that year. When she first met Rachel she felt such hatred for the girl. Mainly because she had googly eyes for her boyfriend. Quinn reasoned with herself that the obvious explanation for hating Rachel Berry was because she was a threat to her relationship with Finn. Maybe she was at first but Quinn knew better than that. It stopped being about Finn a long time ago.

It was one time in particular a couple years back that Quinn found herself looking at Rachel and feeling very warm. She ignored the sensation until she realized she wasn't just warm. She was turned on. Quinn Fabray was perving over Rachel Berry. It was enough to freak her out for weeks. It was after then that Quinn began mercilessly targeting Rachel. She figured if she was too busy hating her there would be no time to ever EVER feel that arousal again. Side glancing at the girl beside her, she knew she'd been attracted to Rachel all along.

"Quinn?" Rachel said, startling her.

"Yeah?"

"I like your new short hair. It's very…chic," she yawned and then fell into a light sleep.

Quinn didn't say anything but she brought her hand to her lips to cover up the smirk that appeared there, just in case anyone had caught the intimate moment of, dare she say it, friendship.

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><p>The ride home seemed endless and each glee clubber was excited when the bus they had taken from the airport finally arrived in front of McKinley. Quinn stood with her arms crossed watching the broad football player and the wide eyed brunette facing each other.<p>

Finn had his hands holding Rachel's wrists lightly. He seemed to be encouraging her. Telling her that everyone would have to forgive them eventually. Quinn felt like she would gag but she couldn't tear her eyes from the scene before her. Rachel just looked so little next to the ogre. Her lips were quivering a little-

"Quinn! Are you deaf? I've been calling your name like a toddler in the mall. Me and Brit are ready to go home already."

The Latina appeared beside Quinn with Brittany in tow. "Ew, why are Godzilla and Man Hands reminding us all of the reason why we LOST?" Santana emphasized the last word, causing Finn and Rachel to look over at them.

Finn rolled his eyes in annoyance. Rachel only looked at them with sad eyes. Seeing Rachel look their way Quinn immediately turned in the opposite direction, headed for Santana's car as fast as her feet would take her. She avoided looking in their direction from the backseat as Santana pulled out and away from the parking lot. Naturally, the Latina reached for Brittany's hand.

Quinn was used to seeing her two friends act so in sync. They were really one person, Quinn was convinced, they just appeared as two different people. For as long as she could remember Brittany and Santana were always publicly displaying their affection. They'd hold pinkies, whisper long secrets into each others ears, give sensual hugs. The list goes on and when she discovered that the cheerleaders started kissing many years ago, she couldn't say she was surprise. Quinn was taken back a bit by the sex that was so clearly written all over their faces the day she saw them after their first time. Santana tried denying it at first but Quinn knew the girl too well and soon after, Santana cracked, only telling Quinn things happened "too quick to stop it".

She never quite understood the relationship between the two but she assumed they were best friends discovering life, including sexuality, together. When Quinn had asked the girls about their sexuality they claimed to be obviously straight. Brittany piped in that they only made out to make the guys go wild. Santana had given a proud nod at the taller cheerleader. From then on Quinn classified the two as "bi when drunk".

Yet, this time something was off between them. Santana had offered her hand to Brittany but the girl limply took her hand, lacking the usual enthusiasm. A deep frown was set on her face. Quinn could see that Santana was barely even looking at the road, too busy passing looks over at Brittany.

"It's okay, Brit. I will make sure Berry pays for ruining our shot at winning," the Latina vowed.

"Did you know bears use the North Star to get home, too?" Brittany said looking out the window in a clear attempt to change the subject.

Santana's eyebrows came together in a confused line. Her eyes were worried, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. Quinn sensed the coldness in the air. Sure, Brittany was probably upset about losing but why would she be cold toward Santana? They had to be in some kind of a fight.

Testing out her theory Quinn asked, "Hey B, are you gonna be staying with me or S tonight?"

Generally it was a question that needed no answering. Brittany practically lived at the Lopez residence.

"I think I'm gonna go home. We've been away so I haven't been able to feed my pet squirrel. I left him in my closet and I should probably take him out for a walk."

If it were possible, Santana's face became even more confused and hurt. Rejection bitter in her mouth. Quinn thought for a second that Santana was actually going to ask Brittany to reconsider and just spend the night with her but nothing was said. Santana bit her bottom lip, too proud to be caught begging for someone to stay. She was too scared of how she'd look if she told Brittany she didn't want to sleep without her, especially after losing the competition. Instead each of the girls sat silently for the rest of the ride, trapped in their own thoughts.


End file.
